Tie Dye and Black entered Week Seven with identical records…and exited Week Seven with identical records. Ty Pereira was shot out of a cannon in the first period, putting Black on the board in the first minute of play. Trevor Marsolini made it 2-0 midway through the second, and Black looked well on their way to their first win since October 13th. Kamal Gill dampened those hopes with a sick end to end rush less than a minute later to cut the lead in half, and Harsh Wanigaratne found the equalizer early in third. Matt Henderson and frequent flyer fill-in, Chris Tran, posted twin 17/19 lines in the 2-2 tie which saw both teams stay flush in the middle pack of the standings at 2-3-2. Both teams are safely above the cut line for now, but both face tough challenges in their remaining two games. Tie Dye will enjoy some time off, returning on December 8th to face Maroon, then finishing out the string against White, in what may be a do or die game for both teams. Black take on the second place team this Sunday in Pink, then face the current pace-setters in their December 15th finale against Red. Both teams will want to secure at least one more point, but may well need two to ensure a spot on the court in January 2020.
It was an all Orange, lots of Peters, and mainly London show in the second game. To say that London Peters ‘had himself a night’ would be an understatement. Our Week Seven cover boy assisted on both Jet Javelet’s game-winner, and papa Peters short-hander in the first, then rattled off four goals of his own to pace a 6-0 punishment of White. Zach Siemer’s 13/13 earned him his first career shutout, while Christian LeClair will be seeing the Peters boys in his nightmares for a while after this one. Captain Kevin Dinino missed Orange’s most convincing win of the season (and their first in over a month), but will return to play knowing that his team has already clinched a playoff berth at 3-1-3. Their next challenge will be their biggest, as they hope to hand Red their first loss of the season this Sunday, and they will wrap the following week against the Melissa Busby led Green. White find themselves in the same 2-3-2 boat as Black and Tie Dye, with a tough putt in Pink up next, and a showdown with Tie Dye to close out their slate. Odds are that at least one of those boatmates is going to be in real trouble come December 15th…
Captain Jon Salt has a rather impressive track record of assembling and leading winning teams in this league. It looks as though he has finally stepped on the banana peel this season, with his DFL team on the brink of elimination at 1-5-1 after yet another loss in Week Seven. Pink was in the role of grateful beneficiary this time around, with Kris Tosczak wielding the heavy hammer with a 3 and 2 output. Glenn Pinto was the Robin to Tosczak’s Batman, assisting on all three of his goals, and adding one of his own in the third. Dale Stuzka rounded out the scoring for Pink, who secured a playoff spot, and improved to 4-2-1 with the convincing 5-2 win. Their playoff positioning push begins with Black this week, and ends with White on December 8th. Captain Salt (who did manage to score in this one, along with Patrick Fusco), finds himself in unfamiliar territory, facing back-to-back must win games to close out the season. Even with wins against Purple and Green, Royal Blue will need some help to survive. Both of those opponents have a game in hand, and that game is…you guess it, against each other. Long story short, it looks like a long season will come to a merciful end in short order for Salty & Company.
The Big Red Showdown went the way of the brighter shade, as Captain Nick Adkins crew remained undefeated through seven weeks of play. Ian Crooks continued to roll along in his best SDFHL season to date, opening the scoring for Red midway through the first. Eric Willard tied it up late in the second on a feed from Jon Zygelman. The same duo cashed in early in the third, but that goal was wedged between two Connor Miller strikes, including the game-winner. Marc Lapointe added insurance, and sealed the 4-2 victory in front of Captain Adkins (17/19). Red enter the final stretch of the season with the league’s best record (6-0-1), three of the top seven scorers (Connor Miller, Joe Nguyen, and Jeffrey Henderson), the top goals/points/PPG player in Connor Miller, the top female scorer (Julie Ott), the top goalie (Captain Adkins, himself), and a gaudy +20 goal differential. It will take two losses, and some other bad breaks to knock them out of the top spot, and even then, they would have to enter the playoffs as the odds-on favorites to win it all. Maroon have not yet officially clinched a playoff berth, but are certainly curled up and cozy on the doorstep. Their remaining schedule features two struggling teams (Purple and Tie Dye), both of whom will be desperate for a win. One point in either contest, or just another week of fruitless play for any of the basement teams will stamp the playoff passport for Captain Cohen’s crew.